Origin

The Old English epic poem Beowulf, probably written in the 8th century, is the first recorded source of swim. To sink or swim, ‘to fail or succeed entirely by your own efforts’, refers to the ducking of a woman suspected of witchcraft. It was not an attractive choice—either the woman sank and was drowned or she floated on the surface of the water and was therefore proven to be a witch. In the swim, meaning ‘in tune with the fashion’, first appeared in the late 19th century.